One Piece Pokemon: Search For The Champion
by Falsegoddess
Summary: After watching the surprising defeat of the great trainer Rob Lucci by a mysterious trainer named Hunter in the Grand Line tournement, Luffy begins to wonder who Hunter really is.
1. Chapter 1

Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and Usopp sat on the couch in Usopp's living room, scrunched up against their Pokemon.

"Ohhh, turn it to channel 23!" Luffy shrieked, pointing at the TV. "The big tournament's today!" He gave Zoro his biggest puppy-dog eyes, complete with pouty-lips.

"Alright, alright," Zoro huffed, picking up the remote and flipping through the channels. "Why's this tournament so important to you anyway? It's just like all the others."

"I heard that the champion of the Grand Line region entered anonymously. No one's ever seen him in public so far, so their all hoping to catch a glimpse of him." Nami answered for Luffy. Luffy was about to explode in excitement, for the final match had just started.

"Shhhh," Luffy hissed at them. His Aipom, just as into this as he was, smacked everyone against the heads. Nami's Meowth chased it out of the living room, biting and scratching as it did so.

"And it's the last match of this year's Grand Line Tournament!" blared the announcer. "Rob Lucci vs. Hunter!"

"Hunter?" asked Usopp. "I know Lucci, he's a great battler. But I've never heard of Hunter." Nami and Zoro nodded their heads in agreement. They were actually interested now. A no-name trainer had managed to rise up through the ranks and come up against Lucci? He had to be pretty good.

"Go, Pidgeot!" yelled Lucci, tossing a pokeball onto the field. A huge, beautiful bird Pokemon emerged, flapping its wings.

"Go Rampardos!" yelled the other trainer. Out of his pokeball came a massive dinosaur-like creature. It pawed the ground in anticipation of the match.

"Sugee!" yelled Luffy with stars in his eyes.

"All right folks, this is a one-on-one champion match. No switching Pokemon, this is the only one they'll get to use," the announcer explained. "Once their Pokemon is defeated, this tournament will be over." He turned toward the field and raised a flag. "Let's get this match started!"

Lucci wasted no time in starting.

"Pidgeot, use Arial Ace!" Lucci commanded. Pidgeot soared into the sky, then dove down towards Rampardos at lightning speed.

"Dodge, then use Head Smash!" Hunter countered. Rampardos ducked at just the right time and then turned toward Pidgeot, who was trying to stop itself. It lowered its head and ran at Pidgeot, with a speed rivaling Arial Ace. The attack made contact, sending Pidgeot spiraling toward the stands. People in the stands ran screaming when they noticed the large bird heading for them. Pidgeot crashed into the second row of seats, dazed, but not out.

"Come on Pidgeot, get up!" Lucci shouted toward the Pokemon. Pidgeot rose up, spreading its wings wide. It gave a loud cry and flew toward the field, scattering seats with gusts from its wings. "Use Fly to scout out his weak spots, then attack with Brave Bird!" Pidgeot obeyed, flying up high to scout out his opponent.

"Oh come on," Hunter taunted, rolling his eyes, "that makes for a boring match. Why don't we spice this up a little bit?" He turned toward Rampardos, who seemed eager to cause some damage. "Use Rock Blast and knock that bird out of the sky!" Rampardos nodded and ripped up a chunk of earth from the ground. He launched it with stunning accuracy at Pidgeot, who was totally unprepared for a ranged attack. The projectile hit and Pidgeot fell to the ground with a large thud.

"End it." Hunter stated simply. Rampardos obeyed, a fiery aura seemed to envelop it. Rampardos charged at the fallen Pidgeot.

"Get up, Pidgeot!" Lucci yelled, but it was no use. He watched helplessly as his beloved Pokemon was stricken with a powerful combo move, Giga Blast. The giant bird crashed to the ground, swirls in its eyes.

The crowd was silent. Lucci had seemed the sure winner of the tournament.

"Hunter wins…" the announcer stammered. Even he, the supposed impartial judge, had silently been rooting for Lucci. This win stunned him, as well as everyone in the stands.

Back at Usopp's house, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp sat in shocked silence. Luffy's Aipom, which was on top on his head, sat with his mouth gaping. Usopp was the first to speak.

"That was… surprising." He seemed to struggle for the last word.

"No duh, Captain Obvious." Zoro rolled his eyes.

"That's Captain Usopp to you, knave!"

Zoro ignored him. His ridicule had quickly turned to anger. "I lost fifty bucks on that match! How could Lucci lose?"

"I don't know. Now pay up." Nami answered, her hand outstretched in Zoro's direction. Zoro mumbled something obscene and forked over the money. Nami smiled victoriously, counting the money to make sure Zoro wasn't cheating her.

"Hey, this is only twenty! You owe me thirty-five more!"

"Like hell, devil woman!"

"What did you just call me?"

Luffy just continued to watch the screen, oblivious to the developing din behind him. He studied the trainer carefully, from his raven black hair to his dark-wash jeans. It dawned on him that Hunter had two different colored eyes, one a light blue and one a light green. Luffy was sure he knew this trainer from somewhere.

He just wasn't sure where.


	2. Chapter 2

I just found out that there is a save button when you edit your work. Whoops... XD

Anyway, get ready for a much longer chapter than the last!

Warnings: Sanji and Zoro language

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the awesomeness that is One Piece. I also do not own any of the Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 2

"SANJIIII," Luffy whined. "I NEED MEAT!" Luffy was perched on a bar stool in Blackleg Sanji's restaurant. The place was a hot spot in the town due to the food and occasional battles or fights that broke out.

"Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat," he chanted rhythmically while kicking the bar in front of him.

"I'll get your shitty meat," came a shout from the kitchen. "Now just shut up!" Luffy beamed in success. He waited, fork and knife in front of his face, ready for the food.

People around him talked about last night's match in hushed whispers. Luffy could have cared less though. He was more concentrated on the succulent, steaming plate of meat that had suddenly piled high in front of him. The Torchic that delivered it bowed, then scuttled away to serve another customer. Luffy dug in, flinging food bits everywhere.

"Yo, Luffy!"

Usopp walked in, waving the morning newspaper above his head. "You've gotta see this!" He walked over to Luffy, avoiding flying food chunks, and plopped the paper in front of him.

Luffy stopped eating and stared at the newspaper with a confused look on his face. "Usopp, make it work." he stated, poking it with his finger.

Usopp grabbed the paper, shooting Luffy a look. With a muttered "dumbass", he began to read.

"Tournament winner Hunter not who he seems?" Usopp started to read. "Earlier this morning, when the award for the Grand Line tournament championship was to be presented, the champion Hunter was not to be seen. Authorities arrived at his hotel room, only to find that he was gone. When police searched the room, they found black hair dye and the clothes Hunter was wearing during the last match. Authorities have confirmed that Hunter is not who seems to be. He could be anywhere, so please be on the lookout."

"That's strange," Nami quipped. She had seated herself next to Usopp while he was reading. "Why would he disguise himself?"

"Maybe he's the leader of team rocket, or, even better, the leader of an alien race who has come here to brainwash the populace and turn us into slaves to work on sugar farms on their alien planet!" Usopp's eyes lit up. He then turned to Luffy. "Speaking of which, I once defeated the savage aliens of Godge 7 with this finger!" He held up his right index finger. Luffy's eyes lit up in awe.

"Sugeee!" Luffy gasped. "Really Usopp?"

Nami slapped each boy on the head for their stupidity. "Or, MAYBE," she started sarcastically, "Hunter's the champion of the Grand Line region who entered the tournament anonymously."

"Ohhh, that's a good reason…" Luffy and Usopp muttered simultaneously while picking themselves up off the floor.

"Hey, what's up over there?" Usopp pointed to the door from his position on the floor.

Zoro and a tall, slim blond were arguing and it seemed to be heating up. Zoro poked the blond in the chest accusingly. The blond retaliated by placing a well-aimed kick to Zoro's head. Zoro dodged and yelled profanities in the blonde's direction to which the blond replied with words that would make a sailor cringe.

"Oh," Luffy beamed, "That's Sanji. He's the cook here. He's really good." Nami looked down at Luffy plate. It looked as if it was devoured by savage beasts. A chunk of the table was also missing, and the bar looked as though there were some bite marks in it.

"I noticed." was all she could say. She turned her eyes back to the increasing din near the door.

"What'd you call me, marimo?" Sanji had his face right up to Zoro's. He looked pissed. Luffy could almost see the electricity between the two.

"I called you a curly eyebrow." Zoro taunted. "Does that bother you, ero-cook?"

"That's it you green bastard," Sanji hissed at Zoro, "Battle, here and now."

"Bring it on, Swirly!" Zoro took up a place on the side of the street. Sanji stood opposite of him, giving him a death glare. Zoro returned it.

"Usopp, ref!" Zoro ordered.

"Hai!" Usopp scurried over to the field. A crowd of patrons was gathering. This was what they looked forward every time they visited Sanji's restaurant. Due to the cook's short temper, battles like this were frequent. Especially when green-haired swordsmen visited.

"This will be a three-on-three match. First one to beat their opponent's Pokemon wins." Usopp announced. "Begin!"

"Go, Scyther!" Zoro shouted. He flung a pokeball onto the playing field. With a burst of light, the ball opened. Out of it emerged a praying-mantis like Pokemon with sharp scythes on its arms.

"Scyther!" the Pokemon shouted, raising its arms in preparation for battle.

"Go, Flareon!" Sanji roared, lobbing his pokeball into the arena. A fiery red Pokemon appeared. The air suddenly seemed warmer. Bystanders began to sweat due to the sudden rise in temperature.

"Flareon, use Fire Fang!" Sanji commanded. Flareon obeyed, streams of fire enveloping its teeth. It rushed towards the bug Pokemon with incredible speed.

"Dodge," Zoro barked, "Follow up with X-scissor!" Scyther move out of the way, but wasn't fast enough. The attack nicked its leg. Red flames whipped around the wound violently, but Scyther ignored the injury and continued with its attack. It raised its arms in an X-pattern and brought both down hard onto the recovering Flareon. Flareon was hit dead on, but due to the type advantage it had over Scyther, it wasn't harmed as badly as it would have been. "Follow up with Slash!" Zoro commanded. Scyther raised its arm again and hit Flareon again. Flareon took the hit and went flying into the side of a nearby building.

"Hit him hard with Flame Wheel!" Sanji shouted at Flareon. Flareon picked itself out of the wall and shook the dust and debris off. It glared hard at Scyther as a fiery barrier surrounded it. Flareon charged at Scyther, hitting the unfortunate bug Pokemon dead on. The stunned Scyther was thrown back a few feet. It looked ready to retaliate, but a look of pain surrounded its features. The burn on its leg was acting up.

"Suck it up, Scyther!" Zoro yelled. It wasn't that he didn't care, he just knew his Scyther was better than this. "Use Slash again! Bring that Flareon to its knees!" Scyther prepared to deliver the killing blow. It raised its right arm in front of its body and ducked down.

"Flareon, finish him with Flare Blitz!" Flareon crouched down and prepared to strike. The flames gathering around its body increased in heat and changed color from red to blue.

"End it!" both teens shouted, pointing at the opposing Pokemon. Flareon and Scyther both charged at each other. The two Pokemon collided in a burst of fire and raw energy. When the dust had finally settled, both Scyther and Flareon lay in a heap on the ground, both obviously knocked out.

Sanji rushed to retrieve his fallen Flareon. When he had gathered it in his arms, he addressed Zoro, who was busy treating his Scyther.

"How about we finish this some other time?"

Zoro nodded in agreement, although he was slightly curious as to what other Pokemon were kept in the pokeballs dangling from Sanji's belt.

"Some other time then." He quickly looked back at the retreating crowd, then at the restaurant. "You got any booze?"

* * *

Everyone was now seated at the bar with their pokemon released. Sanji was dishing out food left and right, with the occasional sake refill for Zoro. Once everyone was served, he grabbed a small bowl of pasta for his Flareon and himself and joined Luffy and his group at the end of the bar.

"So, Sanji," Usopp began, "I didn't know you were that good at battling. Zoro's scyther always knocks my Pokemon out in one sweep." His Furret was downing its vegetables and held its plate up for seconds. Sanji's Torchic came by and dished out some more onto the plate.

"Yeah, where'd you learn to be that good?" Nami inquired, sipping her complementary drink. Her Meowth munched on some free food. It looked like it was in heaven.

"Ahh, anything for my sweet goddess!" Sanji went into his lovesick mode, but quickly switched back to being serious. "My mentor, Zeff, taught me. We lived in a floating restaurant on the sea. It's strange that most of my pokemonare fire-types, now that I look at it." He looked down at his drink and smiled nostalgically. "I trained them all myself. Some I rescued from the chopping block, and others I caught when we went ashore."

"That's soo cool, Sanji!" Luffy chirped. Suddenly his face froze, almost as if he were thinking. Then he broke out into a broad grin. "I know! You should come with us! I going to be a Pokemon Master, and Nami, Usopp, and Zoro are coming with me! So you are too because I've already decided." He crossed his arms decisively. His Aipom mimicked the move, only with a piece of meat in its hand.

"No."

"But it'll be fun!"

"No." Sanji looked to the others for support. No luck there. They all had the same you're-screwed-it's-no-use-to-resist look on their faces. He sighed and ran his fingers through his golden hair. "What about the restaurant? Who'll run it when I'm gone?"

"I dunno." Luffy shrugged stupidly. "But you still have to come! It'll be super-duper fun!" He flashed one of his trademark smiles.

Sanji looked like he was backed into corner. Luffy wasn't one to quit easy. However, lucky for him, a distraction had just ridden into town in the form of Team Rocket. They were a band of thugs with bases all over the world. These particular thugs were a bit, well, they were idiots.

"Team Rocket has arrived!" the commander announced smugly. "Please surrender all of your pokemon and valuables to us! It's futile to resist!"

Sanji groaned. So it was this guy, huh?

"I'll be right back." He left the group and walked outside. "You may want to get out of the restaurant." he added as an afterthought. Sanji failed to notice the confused looks they were giving him.

The commander's attention turned to the sound of the slamming dor of the restaurant. "Ahh, someone dare oppose me? Prepare to feel my wrath! Go, Ariados and Koffing!" He threw two pokeballs onto the field. Out of them emerged a spider-like pokemon and a floating rock spewing poisonus gases. "Ha ha, trembling with fear yet, weakling?"

Sanji's temper hit a fever point. A fiery aura seemed to envelop him, much like when his Flareon used Flame Wheel. "Weakling? I'll show you weak, you narcissistic Rocket bastard!" At this, he unclasped one of the pokeballs on his belt. "Send his Pokemon to Hell, Blaziken!" He flung his pokeball onto the field. In a burst of light, a tall, bird-like Pokemon appeared. It looked just as as Sanji. "Use Blast Burn!"

Blaziken didn't need to be told twice. It unleashed an immense amount of burning energy. The other pokemon couldn't avoid it. They were hit straight on and knocked into a building. The force of the impact was so strong, it shook the structure.

"Follow up with Blaze Kick!" Sanji said with murder in his eyes. No one could make him back off now. Blaziken's leg was wrapped in a light blue fire. It ran at the foe and landed the kick with perfect accuracy. The attack brought the building down.

Standing at the doorframe of Sanji's restaurant, the others could see why Sanji had warned them to get out.

"Damn," was all that any of them could say. Even Luffy was silent with awe.

"Now, Blaziken, launch that Rocket commander into the sky!" Sanji seemed to be cooling down, as evident by the disappearing flames around him. Blaziken nodded and connected a powerful Double Kick with the commander's car. He was sent flying into the sky. His Pokemon followed shortly, each launched with an extra Double Kick. "Anyone else wanna try?" he challenged as he looked around, but the other Rockets had disappeared.

Sanji's Blaziken came to his side and made a small chirping noise. It seemed concerned. Sanji looked up and smiled tiredly. That was a good enough answer for Blaziken. It caught Sanji just before he passed out and transfered him to its back. It walked back into the restaurant, past the group of stupified teens, grabbed Sanji's backpack, and walked back out. When it noticed that they weren't following, it turned back and chirped angrily at them. That broke them all out of the trance they were in. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp grabbed their stuff and ran after the quickly retreating form of Sanji and his Blaziken.

"I guess this means he's joining us!" Luffy laughed excitedly.

* * *

It's longer! I hope to make every chapter about this long.

Please review, it makes me happy. :D

Please?


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